€1100 Build

spicymchaggis

1. What is your budget? €1100 +/-

2. What will be the main purpose of the computer? Gaming. Some photography, photo and audio editing and general all purpose computer

3. Do you need a copy of Windows? No

4. Can you use any parts from an old computer? I have a few 3.5" HDD's

5. Do you need a monitor? No

5a. If yes, what size do you need

5b. If no, what resolution is your current monitor and do you plan to upgrade in the near future? [1920x1080/1440x900/etc.] I have two LG flatron W1942S screens, res 1440 x 900. Prob upgrade these to 2 19" or 20" led screens and also have a 32" LG LED tv screen. Im looking to have to two smaller screens side by side for general use and the tv screen on top for gaming.

6. Do you need any of these peripherals? Probably but these wouldnt affect my budget, the €1100 is just for the computer. Wouldnt mind some backlit gaming keyboard's / mice. I also have a set of Behringer B2031a speakers as I used to be a sound engineer, making the jump back from Mac to windows after years. Taking that into account I wouldnt mind some advice on good soundcard / speaker setup for music, gaming and movies. I can instantly tell the difference between wav and mp3 and only use wav.

7. Are you willing to try overclocking? If it's safe yes, have a habit of modding tech anyways.

8. How can you pay? Visa, paypal and I think my ulster online banking allows online bank transfer

9. When are you purchasing? Mid April to End of April (possibility sooner if funds come through)

10. If you need help building it, where are you based? Based in Celbridge but will be building myself as that is half the fun.

Will also need cables / power for 4-6 internal HDD's as I like to keep things seperate such as music, movies, tv shows, photography and backup drive. But will want an SSD as drive for OS.

Any help / comments would be appreciated. Game I have my mind on would be Guild Wars 2 but I'm sure I will end up playing many many more. I am also aware ivybridge is due out the end of next month but not sure if waiting for it will make much of a difference?

kilianmanning

having lurked around here for a good while i think something like this:p

Total build cost: €1,094.49 + €30 shipping
Intel Core i5-2500K Box, LGA1155 €188.78
8GB-Kit G.Skill PC3-10667U CL9 €34.67
Thermalright HR-02 Macho €33.99
ASRock Z68 Extreme3 Gen3, Sockel 1155, ATX €113.38
FRACTAL DESIGN Gehäuse DEFINE R3 Titanium Grey €91.69
Crucial M4 128GB SSD 6,4cm (2,5") €143.84
Samsung SH-222AB bare schwarz SATA €17.84
Super-Flower Amazon 80Plus 650W €69.86
XFX CORE RADEON 7950 800M 3GB D5 2x mDP HDMI DVI €400.44

somebody else will give you advice on the sound card & speakers. Don't buy a keyboard here because if you buy from hardwareversand it will be in german layout. the 128gb ssd should give you loads of space. cooler is for the overclocking which is very easy to set up by changing the multiplier in the bios & then testing stability with prime95.

spicymchaggis

kilianmanning wrote: »

having lurked around here for a good while i think something like this:p

Total build cost: €1,094.49 + €30 shipping
Intel Core i5-2500K Box, LGA1155 €188.78
8GB-Kit G.Skill PC3-10667U CL9 €34.67
Thermalright HR-02 Macho €33.99
ASRock Z68 Extreme3 Gen3, Sockel 1155, ATX €113.38
FRACTAL DESIGN Gehäuse DEFINE R3 Titanium Grey €91.69
Crucial M4 128GB SSD 6,4cm (2,5") €143.84
Samsung SH-222AB bare schwarz SATA €17.84
Super-Flower Amazon 80Plus 650W €69.86
XFX CORE RADEON 7950 800M 3GB D5 2x mDP HDMI DVI €400.44

somebody else will give you advice on the sound card & speakers. Don't buy a keyboard here because if you buy from hardwareversand it will be in german layout. the 128gb ssd should give you loads of space. cooler is for the overclocking which is very easy to set up by changing the multiplier in the bios & then testing stability with prime95.

Will this card support two dvi out's for my two smaller screens and a hdmi for my hi-def tv screen?

kilianmanning

spicymchaggis wrote: »

Will this card support two dvi out's for my two smaller screens and a hdmi for my hi-def tv screen?

yes, get a dvi splitter as there is only 1 dvi out, hdmi will be fine

Markd250

Wait a sec, if you want to run three monitors in eyefinity, you will need to use one on a displayport input.

If you just want to duplicate the output, you can use the DVI splitter.

spicymchaggis

essentialy I want three screens. Will have two 19" monitors side by side which I want for my computer work, seperate screens now mirroring and then a 3rd screen aka my hi-def 1080p LED screen on the wall above them for movies and games. Is this possible? They wont be all side by side

Markd250

Should be possible, depending on your monitors. I assume your TV has hdmi. In that case you could run one monitor on DVI, and the other on hdmi - with a splitter going to your tv. If that's your main monitor, it will display on both, so you can game on your TV!

That all depends on your monitors taking both DVI and hdmi.

Hope that makes sense!

(you could just buy one decent 1920x1080 monitor for work and games of course)

spicymchaggis

Markd250 wrote: »

Should be possible, depending on your monitors. I assume your TV has hdmi. In that case you could run one monitor on DVI, and the other on hdmi - with a splitter going to your tv. If that's your main monitor, it will display on both, so you can game on your TV!

That all depends on your monitors taking both DVI and hdmi.

Hope that makes sense!

(you could just buy one decent 1920x1080 monitor for work and games of course)

Not quite following. Will windows pick this up as 3 separate screens under the display settings?

kilianmanning

spicymchaggis wrote: »

Not quite following. Will windows pick this up as 3 separate screens under the display settings?

He means that all of the monitors will each be displaying the same thing. Run one work monitor from the dvi slot (or get a dvi splitter if neither monitors have hdmi & run both of them off dvi.Then just run the gaming tv from the hdmi.
If all of your monitors are supported by hdmi run all of them from hdmi with a hdmi splitter:D

spicymchaggis

So essentially I could have my web browser on monitor one or photo shop while my downloads or something on monitor two and be watching a video through vlc on the HD Tv? I like multitasking. If this isnt possible I may just get a larger main monitor and use the HD TV for gaming / videos.
Thanks for the build. It has the case I had my eye on funny enough, well I'd get it in black. I will take other feedback into consideration of course before I go ahead with it as well

Markd250

So what you will end up with is monitor 1 and TV displaying the same image. If all you want the TV for is gaming, that's ok right?

Using 3 monitors is more complicated essentially.

spicymchaggis

That isnt what I wanted but that would actually suit me grand, what I was thinking was overkill. As long as I can throw games or video up onto the big screen that's perfect. The ram on the build above, that good is there any point going better?

kilianmanning

spicymchaggis wrote: »

That isnt what I wanted but that would actually suit me grand, what I was thinking was overkill. As long as I can throw games or video up onto the big screen that's perfect. The ram on the build above, that good is there any point going better?

8gb is enough for what you will be doing, you could get 16gb but it would probably be a waste of money

spicymchaggis

kilianmanning wrote: »

8gb is enough for what you will be doing, you could get 16gb but it would probably be a waste of money

Sorry I meant brand, would kingston or corsair not be better?

Serephucus

Doesn't really make any odds to be honest. As long as it works, that's about it. Faster RAM, etc. doesn't do anything for performance.

spicymchaggis

Serephucus wrote: »

Doesn't really make any odds to be honest. As long as it works, that's about it. Faster RAM, etc. doesn't do anything for performance.

I know it's splitting hairs but I dont like the look of green circuit boards but would like something that also looks nice.
Any build you would try for that budget?

kilianmanning

http://www2.hardwareversand.de/articledetail.jsp?aid=44319&agid=1192

spicymchaggis

Would I benefit much going up to €1200 or €1300?
What way should the OS bet set up on this? Will I need raid and if so any recommendation on a HDD to accompany my SSD.
I'm looking at the Asus Essence STX as well which will not be part of the budget? Any feedback on this? better choices? Looking to order in the next two days
Not using the flatscreen. Going with two IPS Dell monitors

NTMK

spicymchaggis wrote: »

I'm looking at the Asus Essence STX as well which will not be part of the budget? Any feedback on this? better choices? Looking to order in the next two days

The STX is a good audio card i know a few audiophiles that have them and there opinion is that there the best internal SC they've used without going to an external DAC. ive been contemplating getting the stx (if i secure a good mic and headphones) or the xense bundle (if i dont:P)

spicymchaggis

NTMK wrote: »

The STX is a good audio card i know a few audiophiles that have them and there opinion is that there the best internal SC they've used without going to an external DAC. ive been contemplating getting the stx (if i secure a good mic and headphones) or the xense bundle (if i dont:P)

Cheers for that. I want a card that supports 5.1 surround. Any youtube vid of it says stereo only but any online review says 5.1, anyone know for definite?

NTMK

spicymchaggis wrote: »

Cheers for that. I want a card that supports 5.1 surround. Any youtube vid of it says stereo only but any online review says 5.1, anyone know for definite?

Its stereo only unless you buy the xonar h6 (~$80 in the us) only the essense st is compatible with the h6
you could always look into the Xonar d2x (€119) or the Creative sound blaster range.

I dont know much about 5.1 cards so i cant really tell you anymore

spicymchaggis

NTMK wrote: »

Its stereo only unless you buy the xonar h6 (~$80 in the us) only the essense st is compatible with the h6
you could always look into the Xonar d2x (€119) or the Creative sound blaster range.

I dont know much about 5.1 cards so i cant really tell you anymore

its rather confusing. Im reading online that the ST model needs the add-on but the stx has 5.1 as standard and is for express slots.
I think from what im reading here it has 5.1

http://ie.asus.com/Multimedia/Audio_Cards/Xonar_Essence_STX/#specifications

NTMK

spicymchaggis wrote: »

its rather confusing. Im reading online that the ST model needs the add-on but the stx has 5.1 as standard and is for express slots.
I think from what im reading here it has 5.1

http://ie.asus.com/Multimedia/Audio_Cards/Xonar_Essence_STX/#specifications

OK after looking at the manual it will support 5.1 that runs through a home theatre system but it dosen't support analog 5.1 (I think)
heres the manual (Linky

spicymchaggis

NTMK wrote: »

OK after looking at the manual it will support 5.1 that runs through a home theatre system but it dosen't support analog 5.1 (I think)
heres the manual (Linky

that's perfect, on the list it goes!!!
Just to sort out the rest of the build and possibly order tomorrow

spicymchaggis

any benifit to adding another 100-200 to the build? Any suggestions?

Serephucus

Yes. Change the 7950 to a GTX 680.

ShadowHearth

Serephucus wrote: »

Yes. Change the 7950 to a GTX 680.

was there 7950 in original build? i thought 7950 is a very bad value when you look in to thing like 7870. its better of go 7870 or jump 7970 as with current pricing 7950 is kind of a flop...

+1 680 though, but i would not write off 7970 to, as 7970 perform better in OCed state.

i cant find a damn link to that review and benchmark with hard OC on both cards

spicymchaggis

Serephucus wrote: »

Yes. Change the 7950 to a GTX 680.

Is there much difference above the other card quoted?
Could i possibly ask you to recommend a build for €1300?
Also what way should I set up my system? OS on ssd and programs on a HDD? I would prob need one of these aswell

spicymchaggis

open to and appreciate all recommendations. looking to order tomorrow or thurs

Serephucus

I'm a bit confused as to what specs are at the moment. Can you post what you're thinking of getting as of now? I'll go from that then.

spicymchaggis

Serephucus wrote: »

I'm a bit confused as to what specs are at the moment. Can you post what you're thinking of getting as of now? I'll go from that then.

second post in looked good but then again it's been years since ive built a pc or even looked at the hardware. Moving away from mac and back to windows

Serephucus

Under-budget, so you can add in a few extras or something, but how's this look?

Item|Price
Intel Core i5-2500K Box, LGA1155|€188.78
ASRock Z68 Pro3 Gen3, Sockel 1155, ATX|€81.59
8GB-Kit G.Skill RipJaws PC3-10667U CL9|€37.35
EVGA GeForce GTX 680, 2048MB DDR5, PCI-Express|€511.48
Super-Flower SF550P14XE Golden Green Pro 80plus gold|€70.87
FRACTAL DESIGN Gehäuse DEFINE R3 Titanium Grey|€91.69
Crucial M4 128GB SSD 6,4cm (2,5")|€142.79
Samsung SH-222AB bare schwarz SATA|€17.84
Noctua NH-D14, Sockel AM2/AM2+/AM3/775/1366/1155/1156|€67.99
Shipping|€18.99
Total|€1229.37

MRTULES

Total overkill on a few bits.
Could cut back on CPU to a i5 2500k
Could cut back on PSU to 550w bronze
Could cut back on RAM to 8gb and not as flashy
Could cut back on mobo to pro 3...
GPU i have no clue?

Item|Price
Intel Core i7-2600K Box, LGA1155|€266.88
ASRock Z68 Extreme3 Gen3, Sockel 1155, ATX|€113.21
Thermalright HR-02 Macho|€33.75
FRACTAL DESIGN Gehäuse DEFINE R3 Titanium Grey|€91.69
16GB-Kit Corsair Vengeance DDR3 1600 MHz CL9|€82.61
Crucial M4 128GB SSD 6,4cm (2,5")|€142.79
Samsung SH-222AB bare schwarz SATA|€17.84
Super-Flower SF650P14XE Golden Green Pro 80plus gold|€82.29
ASUS Xonar Essence STX, PCIe x1|€151.98
EVGA GeForce GTX 680, 2048MB DDR5, PCI-Express|€511.48
Shipping|€18.99
Total|€1513.51

spicymchaggis

Serephucus wrote: »

Under-budget, so you can add in a few extras or something, but how's this look?

Item|Price
Intel Core i5-2500K Box, LGA1155|€188.78
ASRock Z68 Pro3 Gen3, Sockel 1155, ATX|€81.59
8GB-Kit G.Skill RipJaws PC3-10667U CL9|€37.35
EVGA GeForce GTX 680, 2048MB DDR5, PCI-Express|€511.48
Super-Flower SF550P14XE Golden Green Pro 80plus gold|€70.87
FRACTAL DESIGN Gehäuse DEFINE R3 Titanium Grey|€91.69
Crucial M4 128GB SSD 6,4cm (2,5")|€142.79
Samsung SH-222AB bare schwarz SATA|€17.84
Noctua NH-D14, Sockel AM2/AM2+/AM3/775/1366/1155/1156|€67.99
Shipping|€18.99
Total|€1229.37

Looks good and havnt steered my wrong so far. Those speakers are lovely and pick up my monitors today and it's IPS for life!
Does it matter what HDD I use for my games / programs. Would probably be after one of those aswell. Gonna add an Asus Essence STX aswell. That power supply enough to power everything and all HDD's if i decide to fill it?

spicymchaggis

MRTULES wrote: »

Total overkill on a few bits.
Could cut back on CPU to a i5 2500k
Could cut back on PSU to 550w bronze
Could cut back on RAM to 8gb and not as flashy
Could cut back on mobo to pro 3...
GPU i have no clue?

Item|Price
Intel Core i7-2600K Box, LGA1155|€266.88
ASRock Z68 Extreme3 Gen3, Sockel 1155, ATX|€113.21
Thermalright HR-02 Macho|€33.75
FRACTAL DESIGN Gehäuse DEFINE R3 Titanium Grey|€91.69
16GB-Kit Corsair Vengeance DDR3 1600 MHz CL9|€82.61
Crucial M4 128GB SSD 6,4cm (2,5")|€142.79
Samsung SH-222AB bare schwarz SATA|€17.84
Super-Flower SF650P14XE Golden Green Pro 80plus gold|€82.29
ASUS Xonar Essence STX, PCIe x1|€151.98
EVGA GeForce GTX 680, 2048MB DDR5, PCI-Express|€511.48
Shipping|€18.99
Total|€1513.51

I thought people mentioned here that 16gb of ram and the i7 were not needed for gaming?

MRTULES

Yes they do. As I said "overkill" but I was also considering the fact that you mentioned editing and not just for gaming. I should also point out that I am just throwing out an idea and would not be comfortable recommending this. It was ment as food for thought until someone who knows there stuff got back to you.

spicymchaggis

MRTULES wrote: »

Yes they do. As I said "overkill" but I was also considering the fact that you mentioned editing and not just for gaming. I should also point out that I am just throwing out an idea and would not be comfortable recommending this. It was ment as food for thought until someone who knows there stuff got back to you.

I appreciate any ideas. Yeah I did read i7 multi threading helps with editing alot more but with the amount I do it would probably be overkill. Whats the difference between the 2 motherboards, noticed the one you recommended is out of stock. As I said it's been years since ive built pcs so i can tell the difference between them from a glance

spicymchaggis

Decided for the xonar DX2 instead for analog audio. All that's left is a HDD, what parameters should I look for in one for my programs and games? I take it the SSD is only for the OS?

Serephucus

Well I've found that I only have about 30GB of non-game applications, so you could probably dump all those on the SSD and still have a tonne of room. Depends how much stuff you have, really. My Steam folder is about 400GB in size, so I can't fit everything on an SSD. If you wanted something fast, you could look at a Momentus XT from Seagate. They're hybrid drives with a small SSD for caching built in. (Google is your friend here) and they come in 500GB the new one at 750GB capacities. If you don't want to spend as much money, you could just pick up a 1TB or 2TB drive.

srsly78

There is a program that lets you easily split your steam library, so you can have some games on ssd, and others on hdd. You can move games back and forth as required.

You can set this up manually too, but this app makes it much easier: http://www.stefanjones.ca/steam/

spicymchaggis

One last question before I order now. How many HDD's will this connect to? Would I be able to fill all slots in the Fractal R3 case?
http://www1.hardwareversand.de/articledetail.jsp?aid=52888&agid=1601

What to I need to add to get my other drives up and running? Add some sata cables to the order?

Serephucus

Looks like it has six SATA ports. I'm not sure, but I think you only get two cables with the board, so you might want to throw a few extra in just in case. The R3 has eight or ten HDD bays I think, so if you're wanting that many hard drives, you might want to pick up a PCI expansion card or something.

spicymchaggis

Serephucus wrote: »

Looks like it has six SATA ports. I'm not sure, but I think you only get two cables with the board, so you might want to throw a few extra in just in case. The R3 has eight or ten HDD bays I think, so if you're wanting that many hard drives, you might want to pick up a PCI expansion card or something.

Ah I can expand down the line. Perfect, cheers for that. Gonna order now.

spicymchaggis

Went to order and the RAM G.Skill RipJaws PC3-10667U CL9 was out of stock. What other RAM would suit? Preferably one that isnt an exposed green board and around the same price

heid

A €500 GPU is total overkill for most games at 1080p.

ShadowHearth

heid wrote: »

A €500 GPU is total overkill for most games at 1080p.

But it feels good man!

Serephucus

heid wrote: »

A €500 GPU is total overkill for most games at 1080p.

Wrong.

heid

Catleap monitor instead of crappy hdtv?

spicymchaggis

not using a hdtv. Got two dell 24" ips monitors instead. I want something that will play any modern game at 1080p smoothly and without issue and newer games for the foreseeable future. If it does the trick it's all good. I know nothing personally about graphics cards but it seems to be getting excellent reviews.
Wouldnt mind a recommendation / alternative for the out of stock RAM though.

Serephucus

RAM

spicymchaggis

Serephucus wrote: »

RAM

your a legend! cheers!